The Summerland branch of the Okanagan Regional Library has become a popular lunch spot for high school students.
Caroline McKay, community librarian at the Summerland library, said each school day, between 20 and 30 students from Summerland Secondary School will take their lunch break at the branch.
Students are welcome to bring their own food, and many will come with pizza from nearby pizza outlets.
In addition, the library has baskets of “teen essentials” for those between 12 and 18 years of age. These items include food, toothbrushes, toothpaste, socks, deodorant, lip balm and hygiene items.
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McKay said the library has a small budget to stock these items. In addition, library patrons have provided items and cash donations for the program.
At present, the Summerland library is the only branch within the Okanagan Regional Library to provide such items for student library users.
The idea of lunch at the library is a change from earlier years where food and drink were prohibited in libraries. However, McKay said teens have been neat and have kept the youth area tidy during their lunch breaks.
“It’s been remarkably good. They’ve been very respectful,” McKay said.
The only prohibition on food is around the library’s computers.
McKay said lunch at the library became popular when the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted.
The pandemic also resulted in a shift in perspective for library staff. As a result, those working at the library see the space as a place for community rather than simply a repository for books.
There have been no complaints about the teens having their lunch break in the library, McKay added.
The present library building on Main Street was opened in the fall of 2015. When the building was designed, emphasis was placed on having a section set aside as a space for teens.
In the previous library building, the teen section consisted of a single chair in a dark corner of the library building.